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You are here: Home / Press Room / Why We Should Fear a North Korean Nuclear Attack, Explained

October 5, 2017

Why We Should Fear a North Korean Nuclear Attack, Explained

Policy Analyst James McKeon was quoted in The Root.

“James McKeon, a policy analyst at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation who focuses on North Korea, said it is very likely that Pyongyang has mastered warhead re-entry. Additionally, he said that the American public should be careful not to dismiss North Korea’s technological advancements and not to listen to those who say Pyongyang doesn’t have the skills to make a nuclear weapon that can hit the U.S.

“There were analysts a couple of years ago who said North Korea would never get an intercontinental ballistic missile,” he said. “They’ve now proven on multiple occasions that they have a missile, the Hwasong-14, that, at least in theory, can reach the West Coast of the United States or perhaps the Midwest. Every time they pretend that North Korea will never get this or they’ll never get that, they set themselves up to be wrong.”

…

McKeon, the nuclear analyst, also expressed concerns over the stereotypes assigned to North Korea. 

“A lot of people view North Korea as a backwards state that’s not technologically advanced; their people are starving, their technology isn’t like it is in the Western world,” he said. “So they assume the North Koreans will never have the capabilities to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technology or develop a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can be put on top of it and have that missile and warhead reliably re-enter the atmosphere after a ballistic missile flight. The problem with this view is that it has been proven wrong time and time again.” Read the full article

Posted in: Center in the News, Press Room

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